People & Inspiration

#LoveHard: Millennials Answer: What's The Best Relationship Advice You Learned From Your Parents?

Relationships aren't the walks in the park that rom-com films make them out to be. And while we all picked up lessons on compromise and sacrifice from even the cheesiest romatic films, there are some lessons that are better learned from your another close person's experience.

Our parents were the first people to ever show us what romantic love was like, so it's no surprise if we ever learned a thing or two about how relationships should work. We were able to ask some millennials what the greatest things they learned from their parents when it comes to relationships—whether verbally passed down or observed from afar.

Check out the best advice our parentals have given on that thing called love below!

"The right one will never do anything intentional to hurt you. But getting hurt doesn't mean na hindi ka niya mahal. It's up to you to decide how much you can take and if it's worth it, if anything at all." —Sophia, 23

"Love is acceptance, and once a person learns to accept, all the imperfections and individual differences fade away. For true love sees everything about the beloved (from bad habits, negative attitudes, and even the darkest secrets) but loves anyway." —Bernie, 20

"One of the greatest lessons I have learned from my parents when it comes to keeping and preserving relationships is awareness of each other’s space—whether for the intention of creativity, family, or just plain things deeply attached to the both of you. I think that’s the best communication one can forge in the relationship itself. Understanding motives and movements of each other. It’s seeing, knowing the world together. The world outside the two of you, the world within the two of you, and the world that is the two of you." —Arielle, 21

"Being that my parents’ ages are more than 10 years apart, they thought me, in a way, that love can wait. They thought me that being in a relationship should not be my priority, and that there are other things in life I can enjoy." —Alfonso, 20

"My parents have been married for almost 50 years now. Being in a relationship for only 5 years, I can barely keep the romance alive most of the time anymore. But my parents are proof that more than being in love, you two have to be each other's best friends. It will eventually get harder to maintain the romance especially when you both get too caught up in your own lives. You can rekindle it with small gestures and occasional dates. Your friendship, however, will always be there." —Nicole, 21

"No matter what state you are in (whether we're talking financially or emotionally,) it should not do anything to affect the state of your love for one another. Whether you're at the top of the world or scraping the bottom of the barrel, you two should love each other just the same." —Dwight, 21

"I learned that when you truly love someone, you'd be happy for them no matter what even if their source of happiness isn't you." —Asia, 22

"My dad always tell me that, 'You have to be tough and tender.' To be tough means to stand for your principles and beliefs, to know what's best for your partner, to lead and to cultivate her with love and not by mere authority. To be tender is by not telling her to submit but rather setting yourself as an example of what genuine love should be without any demands of reciprocation." —Stephen, 22

Love is a grand concept that is easy to grasp but not nearly as easy to describe or put into words. So, we're glad that we have our parents to guide us and to learn from when it comes to relationships. What is the best relationship advice you ever learned from your parents? Let us know by leaving a comment down below!